


If you love something, set it free

by rinstop



Category: Free!
Genre: A/B/O, Alpha!Rin, Alpha/Omega, Knotting, M/M, Mating, Mpreg, Omega Verse, Top!Rin, bottom!sousuke, omega!sousuke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-05-25 19:00:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6206797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinstop/pseuds/rinstop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Rin leaving for Australia once again, Rin and Sousuke spend their last night together making memories. But all actions have consequences. </p><p>Written for the Free Kink!meme</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Rin paused to survey the state of haphazard mess of their dorm room in the midst of packing. It was strange to think that in the morning he would be off to Australia to train with the national team and Sousuke would be going back to Tokyo, separated by an ocean again after barely a scant year together. It felt…bittersweet.

As he folded another t-shirt and placed it neatly into his suitcase he heard the click of the door as it opened and closed. He turned to see Sousuke, fresh from the shower, hair damp, a towel around his shoulders and a pair of old jogging bottoms hanging loosely on his hips. Rin’s mouth felt rather dry as his eyes wandered up the line of his stomach to follow the motion of his hand as Sousuke idly used the end of his towel to rub at his damp hair.

“How’s the packing going?” Sousuke stepped carefully around him and the piles of his things, taking the towel from around his shoulders to drape it on the back of his desk chair and pulled out a small medicine bag and his brace from one of the drawers. He settled himself on Rin’s bed and busied himself applying some cream to his bad shoulder. Rin couldn’t help the downturn of his lips as his eyes followed the motions.

“Fine, I guess. I don’t really understand how I have so much stuff, though, but I’m almost done.” Unable to stop himself, he got up from the floor and sat beside him, taking the ointment out of his hands. “Here, let me.”

He squeezed a little onto his fingers and dropped his hands to the curve of Sousuke’s right shoulder, rubbing it into his skin in small, soft circles. It still looked somehow bruised, a strange discolouration under the skin, and he wondered at himself for not seeing it for so long. How had he missed it? How had Sousuke been able to hide it when they spent a significant amount of their time together half naked? How had he been able to hide the pain his shoulder must have given him every day without him cluing in until so recently? It hurt to think he’d been so blind to his best friend’s pain. He didn’t notice his fingers had slowed to a stop until he felt Sousuke’s come to rest over them.

“Stop that.” Sousuke was looking up at him with those beautiful blue-green eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in a way that made him look irritated, but Rin knew was concern.

“Stop what? I wasn’t doing anything.” he answered gruffly.

Sousuke sighed. His voice was soft when he replied, “I can see the guilt in your eyes every time you look at me. It wasn’t your fault. I chose to swim.”

“…I feel like I made things worse…. It looks…does it hurt?”

Sousuke shrugged his shoulder - the good one - and smiled softly at him. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

The words squeezed at Rin’s heart and he bent his head to gently press his lips near the area he had just rubbed cream into, then a little higher at the junction of his neck and shoulder. When he looked up, Sousuke was watching him, lips slightly parted, looking soft and tempting, so pressed his lips there too. He found they were just as soft as they looked, and pliant against his own mouth, mirroring his movements in reciprocation. He didn’t know when his eyes drifted to a close, lost in the sensation of their lips moving against each other.

When they pulled apart, he could see Sousuke’s eyes fluttering open too and for a moment they stayed still, just looking at each other. The only thought in Rin’s head then was that he wanted to do it again. he wanted to taste, to touch, to feel everything he could of Sousuke.

And Sousuke must have been thinking the same thing, because they surged forward at the same time, hands grasping as they pressed their mouths together again, this time less chaste and more open, seeking tongues licking and sucking, breathless and gasping. There was an urgency in the air that hadn’t been there with the first kiss. When they parted again, it was only for dire need of air and then they were on each other again. At some point they moved and found they’d pushed each other deeper onto the bed, with Sousuke’s back pressed against the wall and Rin sat kneeling between his open legs.

“This isn’t a good idea.” Rin breathed between kisses.

“I know.”

Hands fisted into the material of his tank top, pulling him close again. He went back easily, but the token of protest remained on his lips.

“I’m leaving for Australia in the morning.”

“I know. And I’m going back to Tokyo.”

Now it was his turn to say it. “I know. Long distance relationships - ”

“I know, Rin. But why does any of that mean we can’t have this now? I’m not expecting anything, okay?”

That made him pause. “You should expect it. It’s not fair. I want to wake up with you every day.”

Sousuke looked at him then, his expression that of someone who had been given something they’d wanted for a long time. He pulled Rin close with his hands on either side of his face, but instead of joining their mouths again, he kissed his forehead, his nose, his cheeks and then finally his lips. But it was a quick and near chaste press before he leaned into Rin, their foreheads pressed together.

“I want that too. But how would we make that work?”

“…We could Skype - every weekend, at least. Or whenever my rest day is.”

“Yeah. We can be one of those couples that’s always on the phone. Telling each other to hang up first.” Sousuke was humouring him with a soft look in his eyes, the laughter in his voice just barely held back.

“I could visit, whenever I have time off.” He pushed on.

“With all that free time you’ll have between training and competitions all over the world.”

“You could visit me when you have time.”

“Yeah, I’ll come to wherever you happen to be at the time. Cheer for you when you race.”

“It’d be really cool if you could make your own banner.”

“With hearts all over it and everything.”

They both laughed then, the huff of their breaths mingling together, the picture of Sousuke with such a banner too funny not to, as much of a contrast to his character as it was.

Rin sighed, “I can’t ask you to wait for me - that’s not fair. I don’t know how long I’ll be abroad and you know how hectic training can be. You deserve better than that.”

“I wouldn’t mind waiting, you know. But, I guess, a lot can happen, right? It’ll be a long time till we can be in same place, let alone anything else…you might meet someone in Australia….”

“-You might meet someone in Tokyo.”

“…Yeah…that could happen….” Sousuke looked down, then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever happens, happens, so let’s just have tonight.”

He drew Rin back in then, hungry mouths meeting and Rin could feel a desperation and an urgency building within him. They might not get this chance again. Love wasn’t always enough, after all - the timing had to be right too. And while a long distance relationship could work, Sousuke deserved better than that - he deserved someone who could be right there by his side, who could come running when he called and who could hold him in his arms and just…be there. Like a good boyfriend should. Even if the thought of Sousuke with someone else hurt, a ache like his heart was being squeezed, Rin knew he had to be able to let him go. But before that, he would take whatever he could get, would experience every bit of him that he could before he had to leave.

It wasn’t long before they were rutting against each other, both of them hard and aching for each other as they kissed and fondled. As Rin’s arms around Sousuke’s broad waist - typical for an Omega - pulled him into his lap, Sousuke reached down between them and freed them both, fisting them together in one hand. He groaned at the sensation, head falling back to expose the column of his throat in a way that was begging for Rin’s mouth on it, to bite and suck and leave his mark. His hands reached under the fabric of Sousuke’s sweats, pulling them down to squeeze at the globes of his ass, firm under his palms. He wanted so badly….

“Sousuke,” he pulled his mouth off that long neck and nuzzled at the base of his jaw, before pulling back to look into his eyes as he kneaded his hands suggestively into the flesh of his ass, “I want to be inside you. Can I?”

“Anything you want, Rin. You can have anything you want tonight.”

The way Sousuke looked at him then - eyes full of need and cheeks flushed, his hands cradling the back of Rin’s neck in a way that made it feel like nothing else mattered - could tempt an angel. And Rin was no angel. It took a bit of awkward shuffling, but they managed to pull Sousuke’s jogging bottoms off him and when Rin tested between his legs with tentatively probing fingers, Sousuke was wet and ready enough that he wasted no time raising his hips and lining himself up.

He tried to go slow, to savour the sensation as much as he could, but the tight heat of Sousuke’s body sucked him in and he was buried to the hilt within moments, both of them panting and groaning out loud. He had to stop and gather himself then, heart hammering in his chest, afraid he would come too fast because the way Sousuke’s body was squeezing him was almost too much. When he felt more in control of himself, he started moving with slow, gentle movements, watching Sousuke’s face carefully to gauge his reactions to everything he did and listening to every sigh and gasp and moan he made. But Sousuke was rolling his hips back into him with every movement he made, one hand hooked into the struts of the bunk above his head for leverage and Rin lost himself in the feeling of being inside him as they inched towards their peaks together.

“You feel so good, Sousuke. I wish I could knot you - to experience it just once. I want to stay inside you for as long as I can.”

“Then do it, Rin. I’m not in heat, so it’s fine.”

“Are you sure? You’re fine with it?”

“Yeah. I said anything, didn’t I?”

Rin’s thrusts grew harder and faster as he could feel his climax approaching, building in the pit of his gut every time he rocked his hips up into the pliant body over his. And Sousuke’s cries were growing more desperate too, his hands clutching at Rin’s shoulders as his body tensed around him. They fell over the edge on a particularly deep thrust, Sousuke’s passage convulsing around him as he orgasmed, squeezing Rin so tight and pulling his release out of him.

Within moments he could feel his base expanding to fill Sousuke’s tight channel, to plug him up and keep them joined for the next half hour at least. He could only imagine what Sousuke was feeling, but the way he buried his head in Rin’s neck to muffle a loud groan, the way his insides were still seizing around his knot, he could only assume his orgasm was being drawn out in the same way Rin’s was. His body was trembling in Rin’s arms, his breath shaky and stuttering between helpless moans and Rin couldn’t help but be fascinated because he had never seen Sousuke like this. But Rin wasn’t faring much better himself, holding onto the solid body in his arms and leaning against Sousuke just as much as he was being leaned on, panting hard to catch his breath, even as he pressed kisses to whatever parts of Sousuke’s warm skin his mouth could reach.

As they came down from the high some time later, regaining their breath after one of the most intense orgasms they’d ever experienced, they were still draped over each other and still joined together intimately. Rin looked down at the dark head laying on his shoulder and brushed dark, sweaty hair away from his face to see that Sousuke’s eyes were closed.

“Hey, are you okay? How does it feel?”

Sousuke didn’t open his eyes or move his head as he answered. “Really full. Kinda…weird….”

“Weird?” Rin could feel the worried wrinkle between his eyebrows as he frowned. And Sousuke must have heard it in his voice, because when he opened his eyes and looked at Rin, he raised his hand to press the wrinkle away with his fingers.

“I didn’t say it was bad-weird. Just…I guess since I’m not in heat…and the arousal’s going since I’ve already come…it feels strange. And full. You feel so huge.”

At his words, Rin slid his hand between them to fondle Sousuke’s cock, where it lay limp and spent against his stomach, stroking and caressing it into half hardness. He stopped when he felt Sousuke’s hips buck over him, worried that maybe he was over-sensitised, but Sousuke moaned and urged him on.

“Mmmmmnn, don’t stop. It feels good.” Sousuke curled further around him and closed his eyes again, one hand threading into the hair at the back of Rin’s head.

“Better?”

Sousuke nodded in response, his hair tickling Rin’s neck, and Rin continued fondling him with gentle hands, keeping him in a state of gentle arousal.

“Do you think it would feel better if you were in heat?”

“Yeah, probably. I’ve never done it in heat though. And I’ve never been knotted by an Alpha either, so I don’t know.”

“Oh. Wait -” He looked down at Sousuke’s face again in surprise. “Are you saying you’ve done this before?”

“Uh, yeah - there was a team mate in Tokyo. Does it bother you that you’re not my first?”

“No! …Yes…maybe…. You’re my first.”

“Yeah? There was no one in Australia?”

“Nah…I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for anything like that, you know? And people were nice and all but nothing felt special enough, no matter how lonely I felt.”

Sousuke huffed a laugh at that. “You’re such a romantic. I’ve always loved that about you.”

“And you’re not romantic enough. I can’t believe you would tell me about an ex while I’m inside you - there’s a time and a place to talk about past loves and this isn’t it!”

“Well, you’re romantic enough for the both of us, right? Someone has to be pragmatic.”

“Uh, okay, Pragmatic-san - my leg is gonna start cramping soon if we stay like this. You okay to move?”

Sousuke covered Rin’s hand on his cock with his own and pumped a few more times, squeezing a little harder. “Yeah, just go slow, okay? Try not to move too much inside.”

Rin nodded, stroking Sousuke’s back soothingly and then started shuffling slowly back and to the side to lower them both to lay flat on the bed. Sousuke moaned and clutched at him when the change in position echoed in the knot inside him and Rin tried to swiftly and smoothly regain it by lowering himself back down, clenching his teeth to bite back a groan of his own at the way he was being squeezed. Finally able to stretch out a little, laid in each other’s arms with limbs entwined, they settled down for their last night together, still talking sleepily.

Neither of them knew whether Rin’s knot deflated and allowed him to slip out before or after they fell into slumber, but the next thing they knew it was morning and the sound of Rin’s alarm buzzing under the pillow woke them. From where his face was pressed against Rin’s neck, he could feel Sousuke muttering - make it stop, Rin, I want to sleep - and for one glorious, peaceful moment Rin imagined the rest of his life like this, waking up with his best friend every day. And then he remembered he had a flight to catch and he hadn’t completely finished packing last night, which launched him into instant wakefulness and disentangling himself from Sousuke’s arms, even as he told him not to wake up. Sousuke rolled into the warm dip he left in the mattress and sleepily watched him run around the room, throwing the last odds and ends into his pack, while trying to get changed. When he came back from the bathroom, freshened up and ready at last, Sousuke was only just levering himself up onto his elbows with the pillow wadded up under him and Rin sat at the edge of the bed, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

“So this is it. I’m going to miss you, Sousuke.”

“Me too. You have to keep in touch this time, okay?”

I will, I promise. I’ll Skype you when I get there and I’m settled in. And if you want, I’ll even write you for old times’ sake.“

Sousuke laughed, returning his kiss and then waved him off. "Skype is fine - the letters took ages anyway. Safe journey, Rin. And good luck.”

“You too!”

It felt bittersweet, walking out of that door, leaving behind someone Rin was sure could be the love of his life, but he also felt excited. He’d been dreaming of the Olympics since he was a child and being allowed to train with the Australian team was a huge step closer to it. He was moving forward after a setback that had lasted years. His heart stuttered a little when he remembered that Sousuke wouldn’t be joining him on that stage the way they had always dreamed and the sadness sat in his chest alongside his other feelings. But he had hope - he’d come so far in the past two years and he was sure that time could do the same for Sousuke.

–

The door clicked shut and that was it, Rin was gone - like the wind, he swept into people’s lives and out of them as he pleased, lost in his dreams. But he couldn’t begrudge that - it was one of the things that made Rin beautiful. Sousuke flopped back down on the bed, staring at the slats above him thoughtfully. He felt sore between his legs, stretched out in a way he had never experienced before. The journey back to Tokyo later that day was going to be killer. But he could afford to lie in a little longer before he’d have to get up too and finish his packing from yesterday too and move out, since he was getting an overnight bus to Tokyo. He grabbed his phone from the top bunk to set an alarm and rolled back into sleep, already feeling kind of lonely.

It was in his sleep that his body felt the first flush of warmth and Rin’s kisses were fresh enough in his mind that they worked their way into his dreams, till he was tossing and turning. There was a heat between his legs that burned hotter and hotter and, when pressing his legs together did nothing to relieve it, he reached down to fondle himself, pulling a pillow down to rut against. He woke at the cusp of his climax, fingers buried inside himself and gasping as he peaked. And just like that, the feeling was gone as suddenly as it had come upon him.

Feeling slightly confused, he pulled himself out of bed. He was wide awake now and rather aware that he smelt of sweat and sex, so he thought nothing more of his wet dream and went on to shower and finish packing. He had a long journey home later and he’d only managed to finish half of his packing the night before. Before he and Rin had taken one last chance to make memories together.


	2. Chapter 2

His father met him at the station when his bus arrived, bright and early, and started fussing over him almost immediately. Seeing his son cope - or fail to cope, as the case may be - with his injury since the onset of the problem had made Yamazaki Jun’s protective streak twice as wide as it had ever been before.

Sousuke’s own fairly responsible demeanour coupled with Jun’s easy-going personality had allowed his parenting style to be fairly laid-back when Sousuke had first come to live with him from Iwatobi, after his mother had accepted a job at a prestigious firm in Hong Kong, but that had changed after his shoulder injury had made itself apparent. His father had started hovering, watching Sousuke with a worried face in a way that had frustrated him endlessly because it made him feel small and weak and incapable. It had been one of the reasons he had decided to keep his condition a secret at Samezuka, remembering the way his father, his teammates and friends had treated him like he was made of glass. (Guiltily, he also remembered that their behaviour was not without cause, that it had been a bad time for him and he had broken down more than once and they had tried to help as best they could. But it hadn’t been what he’d needed, a way to climb out of the darkness he’d found himself in - that he’d found in Samezuka, with Rin.)

He would have to get used to that again, he thought with a sigh as he climbed into the car - what he’d done at Nationals certainly warranted it, not to mention the stress he’d put his shoulder under over the course of the past year. His doctor definitely wasn’t going to be happy with him either and there was a good chance he was going to need surgery - an option they’d been putting off for a while now.

Another question he’d been putting off was - what now? The question of his future loomed large over his head - he’d be spending this year as a ronin as he hadn’t taken any university entrance exams and gotten a seat. He’d had a hard enough time letting go of swimming and now that he’d finally moved passed it to the point that he felt able to let go, he realised that he still had to deal with the next step - finding another dream. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, having dedicated so many years to competitive swimming only to have his body fail him.

And so he spent the next month looking at as many prospectuses as he could get his hands on between doctor’s appointments. As it turned out, his usual doctor was away following a bereavement in the family to sort out affairs and had been replaced by a more junior doctor for the time being - a harried looking young woman who had been hurriedly flicking through his file even as he walked through the door, trying to take in as much as possible of her suddenly increased caseload. She asked the cursory questions and performed the appropriate tests on his arm, touching the area with cool fingers and then booked him for an MRI scan the next week, with results due in an appointment the week following so that they could see the extent of work needed for surgery and book that too.

His friends from Tokitsu had been worried about him in their own way and dropped by and found various times to meet with him. Many of them were going off to university as well, only a few remaining in Tokyo and he caught them at the tail end of their packing. It was a lonely feeling to see them go but it felt good to get in touch with them again - going back to Iwatobi and reconnecting with Rin had made him rethink his approach to many of his relationships. Even if his friends from Tokitsu hadn’t been enough to bring him out of his depressed funk the way swimming with Rin had, they had been good friends too.

Rin called a couple of times, taking his promise to keep in touch seriously even if he didn’t have the time to do it often - the first as soon as he had settled in, carrying his laptop around to give Sousuke an impromptu ‘tour’ of his little room and making Sousuke do the same because Rin had never been to his house in Tokyo. He’d laughed when he’d spotted little things from their childhood, a random toy or photo on his bookshelf. And again, when Rin found he’d accidentally packed some of Sousuke’s clothes - a shirt and a hoodie that he’d laughingly told Sousuke he was never going to get back, because they were surprisingly comfortable.

Kisumi - who had gotten into a good Tokyo university - contacted him a couple of weeks after his return to tell him that he had moved into his halls of residence and he thought they might not be too far from Sousuke. As it turned out, he was only a half hour train ride away and they made it a point to meet regularly, with Sousuke helping Kisumi to know the area better. He was doing Economics at the Business School, he’d told Sousuke before asking him what his plans were. When Sousuke had sighed, “I don’t know” in response, Kisumi had nodded and smiled.

“It’s a big choice, isn’t it? I think it’s okay if you take your time to make it.”

That was something he’d almost forgotten he missed - the acceptance and honesty that Kisumi had.

—

It came and went - the strange catharsis of letting go of a long, dead-end struggle coupled with the fear that he would never be as good at anything else and nothing else would ever compare. He had dedicated years of his youth to swimming, after all. And swimming with Rin had brought the joy back - he’d spent so long fighting with pain and despair that he’d almost forgotten the solace that the water had always given him. And that almost made giving it up worse.

Looking at all of those prospectuses that he’d gathered over the past month had filled him with an almost overwhelming feeling of confusion and uncertainty. His grades and intelligence were good enough that he felt sure he could do anything if he set his mind to it - of that he was confident. But swimming had been the one thing he had been sure about. Now he was lost.

And the sight of Tokyo bustling with new students, of all his school friends and teammates from Tokitsu and Samezuka moving on to new things - to the next thing - made him feel more and more like he was being left behind. Again.

He was meant to be at university too, having been scouted. He liked having something to work towards, having a goal - he wasn’t used to being directionless and that was probably the worst thing.

Kisumi talked about all the new things he was encountering at uni - such a completely different environment from high school, freer and more controlled at the same time. The classes were harder and the teaching style was different too. Just like Tokyo was different to live in than a small town like Iwatobi. Everything felt bigger, in results and consequences and it felt exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

Rin, too, had been telling him - through a semi-regular stream of texts, emails and vid-calls - about his progress, his new coach and his training methods, his new teammates and the new friends he was making and his up-coming competitions and schedule. And while he was happy to listen, it also made him feel…jealous. And lonely.

Without a goal, without a dream, he didn’t feel like he had anything to work for. And he felt like he was slowly slipping back into the darkness he thought he had left behind at the relay.

—

It felt like time passed quickly, a buzz of change with barely a moment to breathe that left Sousuke feeling somewhat sick and tired. He’d thought maybe it was just a mental thing, until he’d found himself bent over the toilet after dinner, heaving as he threw up and the nausea and fatigue didn’t leave after a few days. His father pressed the back of his hand against Sousuke’s face, frowning when he felt nothing and made him rest more, but Sousuke found himself drifting towards the bathroom in the evenings nonetheless with a strange queasiness in the back of his throat.

His father sat with him at his next hospital appointment and took the first opportunity to tell the doctor about his sickness, ignoring Sousuke’s protests. The doctor - looking only a little less harried than when they had first met her, possibly for the news that the woman she was substituting for would be back in two weeks - frowned at him.

“We can’t schedule the surgery if you’re sick - it’ll mess up the anaesthetic. And since this hasn’t passed after a few days, hmm….” She searched in a drawer beside her and pulled out a small bottle. “We’ll do a urine test - here, fill this up please. The toilets are just down the hall.”

He took the bottle, ignoring a pointed look from his father, and trudged out of the room as the doctor returned to her notes and started typing. He heard her mutter as the door closed, “…Maybe we should do a blood test too.” 

Sample filled and blood taken, they left with another appointment scheduled two days after and his father herded him into the car again to take him back home.

“Dad, it’s just a little queasiness, that’s all. I’m fine, you didn’t need to make such a big deal about it in front of her.”

“Well, I distinctly remember sitting by you yesterday while you were bent over the toilet, so you have a very different definition of 'fine’. Besides she needs to know - you heard her say it could cause trouble in surgery.”

He leaned his head against the window, a frustrated breath escaping through his clenched teeth. But he couldn’t really say anything - even then he could taste the bile at the back of his throat and the roll of his unsettled stomach. So he kept quiet on the ride home, eyes closed against the passing scenery, until the car rolled to a stop outside their little home. He could only hope it was nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn’t nothing. Like the ground had disappeared from beneath his feet, Sousuke felt the world lurch sideways at the word.

“Pregnant?”

The doctor nodded and, in the seat beside him, his father looked just as stunned as he felt. She’d looked worried before she said it, as if unsure how to break the news to him, when it was so obvious it wasn’t planned - he was only eighteen, after all. He’d seen the word ‘congratulations’ dancing on the tip of her tongue, out of convention - because that’s what people usually said after 'you’re pregnant’ - before she’d swallowed it back down and he was grateful for that. But there was no way….

Rin.

“I can’t be…. I wasn’t - I wasn’t in Heat.”

He could feel his father’s stunned, disbelieving stare turn to him, mouth open, but he ignored it, desperate eyes on the doctor. She shrunk a little, feeling awkward.

“Well, the tests were fairly conclusive. The reason you’ve been feeling nauseous is because of the morning sickness and -”

Rin’s.

“No, you don’t understand - I haven’t had my Heat in more than a year. I lost it. So how can I be pregnant? Everyone knows Omega-males can only get pregnant in Heat.”

“Lost it?” She picked up his file again and frantically flipped through it once more. “Losing your Heat is…ah, mild depression, I see. We usually wait to see if it comes back by itself, since Heats are only four times a year, before moving on to prescribing drug treatment if you miss six - it seems, in this case, it has come back on its own.”

It’s Rin’s.

“…But I didn’t feel anything….”

“Well, you see…sperm can stay alive inside your body for up to twenty-four hours before being absorbed. If it’s from a healthy Alpha, it can last up to forty-eight. If your Heat returned after you, er, had sex,” her eyes darted to his father’s face, still struck dumb beside him, then quickly away again before she continued, “then it wouldn’t have lasted long since you were full of healthy sperm and your egg would have been fertilised right away. This can often happen when Omegas have intercourse close to the start of their Heats.”

Sousuke was still shaking his head, trying to refute everything she was saying. “No. I would have known. I would have felt….”

Rin’s. Rin’s child.

He petered off, remembering what he’d thought was a wet dream, waking up at the cusp - was that it? Had that been his Heat? It had been so long since his last proper one, that he could barely remember what it should have felt like. He didn’t know.

But he was only eighteen. He hadn’t figured out any of his life yet. He wasn’t financially stable or self-sufficient. He didn’t have anyone to raise it with. He couldn’t possibly keep the child and raise it all by himself, when he didn’t even know what to do with the rest of his life. This wasn’t good news.

But it was Rin’s. Rin’s.

“I can’t be pregnant.” He hung his head, his voice barely a whisper. Then, as he felt the crawling in his throat, “I feel sick.”

It didn’t seem like any of them could find anything to say and the junior doctor fidgeted a little, giving away some of her youth and inexperience, then jumped and rummaged on a shelf beside her, pulling out a leaflet and thrusting it over the desk. It was for an abortion clinic.

“I understand that this is a difficult position for you. But…” she hesitated, obviously trying to be delicate, “…there are several options available to you depending on how you want to deal with this. If you decide not to have it then…there’s a number on the back and you can make an appointment. You’re only a month along, so you have time to make a decision.”

His father took it stiffly and rose, prompting Sousuke to do the same, following unthinkingly as Jun lead him out of the room.

“Yamazaki-san!” The doctor called to them just as they were reached the door, her face earnest, “…Whatever option you take, we can help you make the best choices for your health.”

—

He didn’t know what to do.

In the silence of his room, he could hear his father moving around downstairs, puttering about the kitchen with the murmur of the TV in the background. The sun hung low in the sky and cast long shadows through his window and he watched the reflections of light glint against the wall and ceiling as he lay on his bed. He felt…blank. His thoughts whirred so fast, even he couldn’t quite grasp them.

On the table beside him, his phone buzzed. A text. From Rin. ’Skype tonight?’

His first instinct was to ignore it. The thought of talking to Rin right now made him feel sick in a way that had nothing to do with hormones, heart racing like he was going to have a panic attack. He couldn’t find it in himself to face him. So instead he plugged his earphones in and looked through his playlists for something loud and fast paced, the sort of music he used to listen to before races - in an odd sort of way, it always calmed him down. Made him feel like he could fight the world.

He didn’t know how to feel about the pregnancy. But there was one voice in his head that was stuck on repeat,

Rin’s. It’s Rin’s. Rin’s child. It’s Rin’s. Rin’s. It’s Rin’s. Rin’s. It’s Rin’s. Rin’s child. It’s Rin’s. Rin’s.

Any constructive or rational thought he might have had - that he was too young, that he wasn’t ready - was instantly drowned out by that voice. A crippling indecision that froze his mind and stopped his thoughts, so all he had was that endless loop.

He wasn’t the sort of person who dithered over problems - usually he figured out the best solution he could and went through with it, sometimes to a single-minded fault. It had been what had led him to Samezuka and to Rin, in the hope that he could find the same healing he had seen Rin achieve through swimming in the relay.

But in the whirl of all of those feelings that had beset him, almost immediately, from his return to Tokyo - the frustration, the loneliness, the floundering confusion of being without direction - somehow…it felt like a sign. Something gained after so much lost. A gift, almost, of something he never knew he wanted. And why shouldn’t he keep it?

He’d lost swimming. He’d lost his dream. He’d lost years of hard work and dedication - years of his life. And he’d lost Rin. Being in love wasn’t enough to keep people together - that ship had sailed and it probably wasn’t coming back. Sousuke had watched it walk out the door. And he’d known that even before, hadn’t he? Love hadn’t kept his parents together. After they’d divorced when he was five, they seemed much better apart than they ever had been together, though neither had remarried since.

And swimming wasn’t something he’d ever manage competitively ever again - even after surgery he would struggle to regain the level he had been at before. A level which everyone else had already surpassed. He’d never have the same mobility in his shoulder ever again and he had to accept that and move on. The only thing that made it easier to move on was his belief in Rin - that Rin would achieve his dreams and, by proxy, Sousuke’s too. Because he sure as hell couldn’t any more.

He plucked at the contact card for the abortion clinic as he lay on his bed, holding it towards the light above his head and stared at the phone number it held. Then he put it down on the bedside table and turned around, closing his eyes. He was sick and tired of losing things. Now, all he wanted was to hold on to something for a change.

Besides, when it came to Rin, letting go had always been hard to bear. And the fact that it was his made even the idea of getting rid of it unbearable.

—

“Dad? I’m…I’m keeping the baby.”


	4. Chapter 4

Nearly a month later, he’d had his shoulder surgery and some semblance of a plan for his life. His mother had dropped everything to come back to Japan when she had heard and stayed until she was satisfied that everything would be fine. They had sat and talked as a family about what they were going to do - Saeko was a firm believer in plans. She’d always told him to chart out his goals and all the paths to achieving them and to have backup plans for anything that could go wrong.

He hadn’t really had a backup plan for swimming though, had felt like a Plan B might cause him to fail because he wasn’t committed enough, and then learned the hard way that commitment wasn’t necessarily enough any way.

With his decision to keep the baby, the question of the future loomed larger than before and he’d started questioning going to university too, hesitating and wondering if maybe he should just get a job straight away. His father had inherited a business that had been in the family for generations and Sousuke was an only child - perhaps helping in the shop would be best, a preparation for it to be passed into his hands. His mother and father had shut down that line of thinking quickly.

“It would be a waste of your brains not to - and it’s exactly the kind of environment you’d thrive in. And you needn’t worry about the money - we’ve both been saving since you were born.” his mother had said.

“You don’t worry about inheriting the shop, okay?” His father had told him with a clap on the back. “If you get a degree, you’ll have more options and it might help you run the shop and it might help you move on to something bigger. Don’t limit your potential.”

Their advice was something he deeply appreciated, even if he hadn’t always taken it, and on that front he found his resolve strengthened. It was the other conversation that Saeko had brought up that he still couldn’t quite face.

She knew it was Rin’s. Had opened her conversation with: “Does Rin know?” and then scoffed in his face when he’d turn to her with incredulous eyes.

“Please - when you’re children are best friends then parents become good friends too, you know? You spent every moment together and stayed at their house as much as you were home - the same for Rin-kun. I still keep in touch with Hana, too. You went back to Iwatobi for your last year of high school and now you’ve come back knocked up. Who else would it be?”

He’s clasped his hands and looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

“No. I don’t know if….” he trailed off, unsure of what he was trying to say.

She covered his hands with hers then, sitting on the low table before him and leaning close enough for her hair to tickle his forehead.

“You should tell him. He deserves to know.”

He swallowed. Nodded. She was right. It was the right thing to do. But….

“Don’t say anything to Aunty, okay?”

~~

It was time to stop avoiding Rin.

In all fairness, it hadn’t been thoroughly intentional or all that obvious. Between talking his father around, telling his mother (who had immediately decided to come home upon the news), scheduling his shoulder surgery and having it, he hadn’t particularly had time to sit down and have a proper conversation. Coupled with Rin’s own busy schedule, their communication had been limited to a few texts, responses often delayed by days.

But he couldn’t avoid him forever and as the screen of his laptop flickered as the call connected, the sight of his face brought a sudden rush of sensation that squeezed his heart and made his stomach flutter. He hadn’t realised quite how much he’d missed him, so used to the sensation that it almost felt like his natural state of being.

Rin smiled at him through the screen and Sousuke found his face mirroring the expression automatically, forgetting that he’d been anxious and worried almost immediately. All that mattered was Rin.

“Hey, I’ve missed you.”

Rin’s voiced lagged behind the movement of his lips, but the sound of it was music to his ears. And it was so easy with Rin, to fall into the way it was between them not matter how much time had passed, to talk about anything and everything, stupid or serious.

“Me too. I’ve missed you too.”

He listened with a smile on his face as Rin told him about his training - about how hard it was, how strict the regimen and the coach were and how much he’d improved in the short time since he’d started there. How amazing it felt that he could feel himself getting closer and closer to his goal, his dream, with every second he shaved off his time and how powerful his body felt in the water when he’d been able to perfect and apply what he’d learned consistently. And with every word he said, a feeling like he was sinking grew in the pit of Sousuke’s stomach.

He couldn’t tell him.

He knew Rin well enough to know that he would drop everything to come back to Japan, back to Sousuke, if he knew he was having their kid. It would be a repetition of his father’s legacy - giving up his dream of the Olympics for family. A dream he’d held in his heart since they were children and a promise he’d made to his father’s grave. A dream Sousuke desperately wanted him to achieve and would never forgive himself for being the reason it shattered. He wasn’t going to stand in the way of that.

Better not to give him a choice then.

“…So actually, I have two weeks off at the end of August and I was thinking of visiting.” Rin talked on, oblivious to his conflict. “My flight to Japan is to Tokyo anyway, so I could spend a few days with you and go on to Iwatobi. Or do it on the way back. I don’t know. But I miss you, you know? It’d be great to see you again in person.”

The thought of seeing Rin again brought a surge of excitement, quickly followed by conflict - a sense of ‘oh shit’ that had him dropping his eyes. It made his voice sound insincere when he said, “Uh, yeah. Yeah, that would be awesome.”

Rin narrowed his eyes. “Is something wrong? I thought you’d be happier.”

Shit. He had to tell him something. He couldn’t hide something like this forever, after all. Mouth suddenly dry, he licked his lips and took a deep breath.

“Actually…I need to tell you something.”

The fact that the expression on Rin’s face immediately opened to one of concern didn’t help as much as it should. He couldn’t meet those red eyes. Not when he was going to be coating his words in a lie.

“When I got back to Tokyo, I met up with an old team mate and -well - we ended up sleeping together. We were…well, my heat…one thing led to another and it just sort of. Happened….”

He looked up to gauge Rin’s reaction and almost felt it would have been better not to know. There was hurt there - hurt that stayed in his eyes even when he schooled his expression into a more neutral expression. He didn’t quite seem to know how to react, his voice wavering a little when he spoke and it almost broke Sousuke’s resolve.

“…OK. Uh - well - I…okay. We decided not to try a long distance relationship for a reason, right? We’re not together, so you can do whatever you want -”

“That’s not what I wanted to tell you. It’s actually….” Sousuke interrupted quietly. He took a deep breath and let it go. The truth was almost harder than the lie. “I’m pregnant. And I’ve decided to keep it. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

The shock on Rin’s face eclipsed almost everything else and Sousuke watched the myriad of emotions play out over Rin’s face with a strange sense of detachment. Shock, disbelief, hurt…a curious flicker of despair and anger. An open book for anyone to read - he’d always been bad at that. Had never been able to hide or control his feelings, so it was always easy for Sousuke to know what was on his mind, even if he couldn’t always understand.

He didn’t know what to say in the silence that dragged on, could only look pleadingly at Rin, even if he didn’t know what he was pleading for. And when Rin finally spoke, his voice was choked and a little faint.

“Pregnant….” he laughed a little, an unhappy sound, and it petered off almost as soon as it started. “Is that why I haven’t been getting through? How long were you even in Tokyo before you slept with this guy? No, nevermind, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that - Congrats, Sousuke. A baby. Wow. I can’t believe…is that what you want? When we’re so young still? I didn’t know you wanted kids.”

It was so hard to meet his eyes. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I was figuring things out, so…I didn’t mean to avoid you.” Another lie to add to the list. What was one more though?

The sound of silence filled the space between them, neither of them knowing what to say. The moment dragged on, grew longer with their distress, until it was broken by a soft buzz. A message notification on Rin’s phone.

Rin turned, picked it up to look, then glanced back at the screen, eyes sliding away from Sousuke’s face.

“I, uh- I have to go. But…congratulations, Sousuke. I hope you two are very happy together.”

He leaned forward to end the call and the screen went blank. With a heavy breath, Sousuke let his head drop into his hands and stayed there.

He could only hope he hadn’t made a mistake.

~~

On the other side of the ocean, Rin was in much the same pose - head dropped low, forehead pressed to the table with his hands in his hair as he sat in front of the blank screen. That conversation on their last night together, they’d talked about finding other people. But he hadn’t thought Sousuke would find one so soon - felt a little angry and bitter at that. Rin had barely looked at anyone else, still hooked on the memory of their last tonight together months ago, though his team had more than its fair share of good looking members. Maybe that night hadn’t meant as much to Sousuke as it had to Rin if he’d been able to move on so quickly. Maybe he should start looking - there was no need to be hung up now, right?

Rin knew his best friend was hot. Anyone with eyes could see that. He was tall, statuesque - striking in every way. Omegas didn’t come under six foot and there was still that old belief that a bigger Omega would carry your children better, whether male or female. Add to that a beautiful face, with a captivating gaze and a breathtaking smile that transformed his entire face and a personality that was so cool, so intelligent and so damn capable that Rin had always been a little bit in awe of him. So proud of the fact that he was Rin’s best friend. Any Alpha would be lucky to have him. And Rin almost had.

He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it - marriage, settling down with a mate and having kids was something that definitely wanted - but he was young and that was so far in the future, that it had been an indistinct thing he’d taken for granted. It was just…whenever he’d pictured it, he’d always thought of Sousuke. He’d had some romantic notion in his head of coming back with a bunch of gold medals in his hand, after he’d achieved what he’d wanted from his career and he was maybe close to retiring at thirty or something. It wasn’t like he was expecting Sousuke to wait for him - it wasn’t like that - but he’d figured they’d probably have a few casual relationships that didn’t go far before finding their way back to each other again. That was how they worked, wasn’t it? No matter the time or distance, they could pick up right where they’d left off - because they got each other like no one else could.

But Sousuke had fallen in love with someone else. It had to be love. There was no other explanation for Sousuke to keep the baby, whether or not he was ready or in a position to be a parent - Rin knew him well enough for that. Whoever that old team mate was, he’d stolen Sousuke’s heart and now Sousuke was all in, because he took commitment so seriously that he never thought to leave himself a way out. That was the way Sousuke loved things. That was why they’d forgone a long distance relationship - because Rin couldn’t give him that.

And so Rin had missed his chance. Had lost. As competitive a person as he was, Rin hated the feeling of losing more than pretty much anything else. But he’d just have to learn to deal with it, wouldn’t he? He swiped his phone off the table and picked one of his faster paced playlists as he shoved his trainers on, hoping that a run would help his state of mind. Sent a quick text to Russell and Lori to cancel on dinner with them. He wasn’t in the mood for company.

His times weren’t so good that week.


	5. Interlude: Rin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Er, so, I honestly didn't mean to leave it this long between updates, but a lot has happened since then - I graduated my Masters and changed job twice! - and I haven't been able to keep up with either this fic or the prompt blog, so I hope you'll forgive that. Not sure how much interest there still is in reading this, but thank you to all of you who left a review on the last chapter - I treasure every single one and they really kicked me into gear to finish this chapter!

He ended up with a little less time off than he'd previously thought and spent most of it in Iwatobi with Gou and his mother, feeling guilty that he hadn't done so much before, and dropped in on his underclassmen at Samezuka who were excited about his progress. A whole day was prioritised for Nagisa and Rei as well. He gave himself three days in Tokyo and met Haru and Makoto first. He saw Haru a lot in swim meets and competitions anyway, racing each other more often than not; and they had a group chat that they keep in regular contact with, but he hadn't seen Makoto since the end of school and he missed that sincere and unassuming presence.

Tokyo had been good to Makoto, who had never given himself enough credit for his own strength and ability. But it seemed he'd come to some sort of acceptance of himself, seemed more confident than the last time Rin had seen him and it made him happy to see that.

He met Kisumi next, in a teaming student hang-out that took him an embarrassingly long time to find. Kisumi steered him to the bar immediately, waving away his apologies for being late with a teasing, "Well, I was beginning to think you were standing me up, since you're usually so punctual - but you made it, after all! Now I don't have to go home and nurse a broken heart!"

Rin huffed a laugh, sheepish. "Yeah, well, I may have wandered the wrong way from the station - Tokyo can be kind of confusing and the map on my phone took a while to figure it out."

"Ha! Tell me about it - I spent my first month here glued to my map and only just made it in time for half my lectures. At the risk of sounding like a country bumpkin - coming from Iwatobi, the city can be really…distracting." He waved down someone behind the bar who he seemed to know well enough that he could ask for two sodas with minimal communication.

"Ugh, so distracting - the smell of food is the worst. I really miss Japanese food and everything around here smells like home. They have us on a really strict diet and it's fine most of the time, but sometimes I just crave other food. Nutritionally useless starchy carb food." Rin smacked some notes down on the counter before there could be any quibble over it and Kisumi rolled his eyes at him, but let him pay with a shrug.

"I think I know what you're talking about - Makoto is always complaining to me that Haru is always complaining to _him_ about the strict diet. And every time he does it, I start craving the biggest bowl of ramen - but I've only given in three times, so far! How's that for self control?!"

Rin laughed and looked at him thoughtfully, turning to lean against the bar-top. "Do you meet up with Makoto often then? We try to vid-call every so often, but I have to admit I haven't been that great with that lately."

Kisumi looked uncharacteristically serious then, eyes seeming a little faraway. "Well, it's just…we used to be such good friends, you know. And then with you moving away and us all going to different schools, we all lost touch. But - it's going to sound kind of stupid saying it out loud," he smiled a little bashfully, "it kind of felt like a second chance I shouldn't waste when we ran into each other again, Makoto being my little brother's swimming coach and then the summer fair with you guys. So I try to make it a point to meet up."

And that was something Rin could understand very well - a lesson he'd learned the hard way after all. It was with a wry smile that he agreed, "Yeah, I know that feeling. It doesn't sound stupid at all."

In the ensuing silence he could feel Kisumi's eyes on him, appraising, and braced himself for what he knew was coming.

"You know…I see Sousuke a lot too."

And there it was. But in a roundabout way, Rin had been hoping Kisumi would broach the subject first, because he still felt… _conflicted_ was probably the simplest way to put it. He pulled his backpack around to unzip it and reach inside. It also meant he didn't have to look at Kisumi's face.

"Hey, uh, when you go see him next - would you give him something from me? It's nothing big, just-"

Kisumi's hand over his stopped Rin from pulling his package out. When he looked up, Kisumi's eyes were endlessly kind.

"I'm going to see him tomorrow to drop off some books for entrance exam prep. Come with me." He must have seen the indecision on Rin's face, because he carried on. "You're still friends, right? I don't know what happened between you two, but I know he's missed you."

His fingers clenched once around the package, crinkling the wrapping a little before he let it go and pulled his hand out of his bag.

"Yeah. Yeah, ok."

\--

It wasn't that Rin was unfamiliar with nervousness necessarily, but standing outside the blue front door of Sousuke's home while Kisumi rang the bell had him shuffling awkwardly wondering what he would do when it opened. Their last conversation hadn't exactly left them on the best of terms and they hadn't spoken since. And he'd been mean, which bothered him the most.

He stiffened at the sound of movement from within, the click of the latch an anxious sound to his ears. And then the door opened and that achingly familiar face was revealed, blue eyes widening at the sight of him, and Rin could feel all the thoughts in his head scattering like dust in the wind because. Somehow. Rin always seemed to forget how much the sight of him felt like home.

"Hey."

It wasn't until Kisumi cleared his throat, somewhat awkwardly, that Rin realised they'd been staring: drinking in the sight of each other after months of silence. His eyes dropped then, taking in the curve of Sousuke's belly that made his state obvious. And suddenly it felt painful, a lurch in his chest that Rin swallowed down as Sousuke moved to let them in.

"Uh, sorry, the place is kind of a mess. I've been studying is all so…." Sousuke led them into a cosy living room, couches turned inward toward a coffee table that was littered with textbooks and sheets of notes in his familiar chicken-scratch scrawl. It made Rin think of their dorm, of homework after a long training session with mellow music to accompany the scratch of their pens and their own murmured talk. God, why did that hurt?

Beside him, Kisumi was seated and making himself comfortable, so Rin sat too. When Sousuke took a seat across from him, he found his eyes repeatedly drawn to the bump, involuntarily, and try as he might, words escaped him. He was grateful when Kisumi filled the silence, placing some textbooks on the already full table and cheerfully warning Sousuke of his upcoming trials and which components of the entrance exams he'd found particularly difficult, with grumbles about the pointlessness of some of it in return.

It gave Rin time to compose himself a little before he could start contributing to the conversation, chatting about anything and everything  until there was a comfortable lull. Sousuke excuses himself to use the bathroom and wanders further into the building, shuffling through the kitchen to put the kettle on to boil on his way through.

"He's really having a baby." Rin said it with mild surprise, not sure what his surprise was for. "It's really…."

"Hm?" Kisumi turned, with questioning eyes.

"I couldn't imagine having a baby now, you know? I feel way too young. And to tell the truth, it kind of scares me to think about. But Sousuke's going to have a kid - a few months and he's going to be a parent. That's a whole different level and I've got to admit I've been struggling to process it. I didn't even know he wanted that."

"Yeah…I guess I know what you mean. All of that seems a little far off to get to, yeah? Strange to see someone our age jump up the ladder so much already. But I think Sousuke can do it, even it's hard to study and raise a kid at the same time."

"Oh, definitely. Nobody works as hard as Sousuke when he's set his mind on something and he wants to succeed. He'll do great whatever he decides on, I know that. Must be one hell of a guy, though."

"Huhh?"

"Have you met him?"

"Have I met who?"

Sousuke came back in then, holding a carefully balanced tray of drinks and snacks and a look on his face that suggested he was trying to be nonchalant about the fact that he hadn't brought them sooner. He'd never been that good at following ettiquette, but more out of carelessness than because he was rude. He set the tray down, asking, "What are you talking about?"

"I was just wondering - do I get to meet the lucky guy you've chosen to be with? Is he here?" They were best friends, after all - introducing your boyfriend to your best friend was as important as having them meeting your parents, right?

"Uh…no. He's at university at Kyoto still." Sousuke didn't seem to want to look at him, perhaps feeling awkward about the subject.

"Oh. What's his name - you never told me." Rin couldn't help but press. He knew absolutely nothing about the man he'd lost to. And he needed to make it not-awkward.

"Ah, I didn't, did I? His name is Watanabe Ryuu. He was my senior on the swim team - had the smoothest breaststroke I'd ever seen - and he really looked after me when I hurt my shoulder. I didn't fully appreciate it at the time."

He looked a little lost at that, in remembering something painful, and that wasn't what Rin was trying to do. So he left it there. Where before they might have known exactly how to work around the edges of each other's sensitivities (or bulldoze over them, as the case may be), now he wasn't sure what was acceptable. That night had changed their dynamic and then his news had changed it again and Rin felt cautious now. So he turned to rummage in his bag and pull out a slightly awkwardly, but neatly, wrapped package, which he pushed into Sousuke's hands.

"I, uh, didn't know how much stuff you needed or what you already have, so I got you something - it's nothing much. Lori helped me pick it out…."

Russell and Lori were the only ones he'd told about Sousuke. They'd figured out he was upset about something when he'd cancelled on their weekly dinner and insisted, in that gentle but firm way they had, that whatever it was gave no worth to avoiding them. They hadn't pressed him on it though, just waited. He'd been feeling hurt and angry and confused about why he felt that way and also that he had no right to feel that way at all. Without talking to them, he wasn't sure he would have found his way out of that confusing mire of emotion for a while yet. But it had been Russell, straightforward as always, who had reminded him that, at the core of it all, he still cared deeply about Sousuke and didn't want to stop being friends.

Sousuke was careful opening the package, peeling back the tape to reveal the bundle inside: a little hooded towel with an embroidered kangaroo face on the crest and a little quilted cloth toy in the shape of a koala. He picked it up with soft hands, gingerly running his fingers over the soft cloth. His head was down, but his voice was full of something Rin couldn't quite figure out when he spoke.

"Oh, this is really…it means a lot. Thanks, Rin. I'll use it in the hospital."

Which meant it would be the first thing the baby would ever use. And that was one hell of an honour. Rin felt something in him loosen then - like an assurance of…something. Not something he could figure out then and there, but it was bittersweet and comforting all at once. Perhaps a realisation that they held a special place in each other's heart that wasn't capable of being replaced - which was kind of a kicker, if you thought about it, really. But there was not point dwelling on that now, when there was nothing to do about it.

Whatever their relationship was now, they would work it out.

\---

When Rin left a little while later, Sousuke thought he could honestly say he felt like a wrung out dishcloth.  Emotionally, anyway. He'd had to work hard to keep them under control  around Rin, especially when he'd seen the present he'd given. He sagged into the sofa as soon as he'd closed the door, rubbing his hands over his face as he leaned back into the cushions.

"Soooo…Watanabe Ryuu, huh?"

Shit. He forgot that Kisumi was still there, and that he didn't know either. But there was no way he knew who he was talking about. He rolled his head away and bit his lip. "Uh, yeah."

"Does this Watanabe Ryuu happen to have a younger sister - about our age, really tall, voleyball player, named Riko?"

That was strangely specific and also eerily on the mark. Which meant nothing good for Sousuke. He turned to look at Kisumi, sitting a little straighter, mind whirring as he tried to figure out what to say. For his part, Kisumi only stared guilelessly back.

"We're on the same course and we've become pretty good friends." He shrugged, something in the quirk of his lips that Sousuke would poke at later. "And she hasn't said anything about becoming an Aunty, though admittedly it wouldn't be any of my business to tell it to, but…. It's not Watanabe Ryuu, is it?"

Sousuke could only stare at him, lips pressed tight, caught in his lie. Kisumi was smart enough to put the pieces together by himself, and it was looking like he already had.

Kisumi took a deep breath. "It's Rin's, isn't it? And he doesn't know."

"Don't tell him." He clenched his jaw, stubborn, waiting for Kisumi to tell him all the reasons why he should.

"No, I guess I understand why you haven’t told him." Kisumi sounded thoughtful as he said, but the words knocked the wind out Sousuke's sails easily. Just like that, all the fight drained out of him. "It's kind of a sucky situation, though, huh?"

"…Yeah," Sousuke sagged back against the couch once more, head hanging over the back. "But. I don't know…."

"Hey, you know, I had my suspicions for a while, but when you said Ryuu, it just confirmed it. Does he know you're telling people he's the father of your child?"

"No. I don't tell anyone anything about it, if I can help it. Maybe I should just tell everyone it's you from now on."

"Ha! That'd be hilarious. But I'm here for you, ok? If you need a buffer, I'll be it." He rocked sideways to nudge Sousuke with his shoulder, trying to shake the melancholy look off Sousuke's face. But there was something wistful and distant there, that seemed to have caught him.

"Kind of wish it was you, right now. It'd be easier." The words were quietly spoken, a little sad and defeated.

"Sousuke…shall I take that as a love confession?"

And that seemed to have done the trick, his voice deliberately light and teasing to get the reaction he wanted out of Sousuke. Wide eyes, laughter.

"Pfft, you wish!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please do let me know what you think (and also if you spot any mistakes in the writing, because this is not beta-ed) and I shall try not to take quite so long to get the next chapter out, lol.


End file.
